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2011 Taxes: How Much Did Romney Donate To Anti-Gay Mormon Church?

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Mitt Romney at 3:00 PM ET today released his 2011 tax return, all 379 pages, and declared that he donated $1.1 million to the Mormon Church — The Church of Latter Day Saints, and $1,15,484, to be specific.

Note: This is a minimum number. Stay tuned as we crawl through the 379-page document, which, by the way, seems to place most of Romney’s income from foreign investments.

READ: On Our Radar – The Romney Millions And The Damage They Have Done

The Mormon Church (LDS), while it no doubt does excellent charity work, also was the primary supporter of California’s Proposition 8, which we now know was an unconstitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the Golden State. The Mormons, or the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) worked tirelessly to pass the constitutional amendment in 2008, and, as many believe, is also the primary funder of NOM, the National Organization For Marriage.

The LDS Church leadership urged all Mormons to “do all you can to support the proposed constitutional amendment by donating of your means and time.”

“Local church leaders set organizational and monetary goals for their membership—sometimes quite specific—to fulfill this call,” notes Wikipedia:

The response of church members to their leadership’s appeals to donate money and volunteer time was very supportive, such that Latter-day Saints provided a significant source for financial donations in support of the proposition, both inside and outside the State of California. About 45% of out-of-state contributions to ProtectMarriage.com came from Utah, over three times more than any other state. ProtectMarriage, the official proponent of Proposition 8, estimates that about half the donations they received came from Mormon sources, and that LDS church members made up somewhere between 80% and 90% of the volunteers for early door-to-door canvassing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints produced and broadcast to its congregations a program describing the support of the Proposition, and describing the timeline it proposes for what it describes as grassroots efforts to support the Proposition.

Mitt Romney did not declare all his charitable deductions — effectively paying more in taxes than required, and effectively disqualifying him from holding the office of president, per his own words — so we don’t know to what other charities he donated another estimated $2 million.

Via the Romney campaign:

  • In 2011, the Romneys paid $1,935,708 in taxes on $13,696,951 in mostly investment income.
  • The Romneys’ effective tax rate for 2011 was 14.1%.
  • The Romneys donated $4,020,772 to charity in 2011, amounting to nearly 30% of their income.
  • The Romneys claimed a deduction for $2.25 million of those charitable contributions.
  • The Romneys’ generous charitable donations in 2011 would have significantly reduced their tax obligation for the year. The Romneys thus limited their deduction of charitable contributions to conform to the Governor’s statement in August, based upon the January estimate of income, that he paid at least 13% in income taxes in each of the last 10 years.

And via Think Progress:

Romney has previously defended his low tax rate — which, at 14.1% is significantly less than many middle class families pay — by saying he is simply being pragmatic in meeting his legal requirements:

I don’t pay more than are legally due and frankly if I had paid more than are legally due I don’t think I’d be qualified to become president. I’d think people would want me to follow the law and pay only what the tax code requires.

If Romney had taken all of the deductions available to him under the tax code, he would have paid closer to a 9 percent tax rate in 2011. In attempting to match up his tax rate with his prior statement, Romney is paying more in taxes — and by his very own standard — disqualifying himself from the presidency. It’s worth noting that under Romney’s tax plan, he would cut his own rates even further, and would have paid little to no taxes under Paul Ryan’s 2010 budget, which would have eliminated the capital gains tax.

 

Related: 

America Spends $71 Billion Annually Subsidizing Tax-Exempt Religion

NOM Founder And Mormon Church Tied To First Report Of New Anti-Gay Parenting Paper

Romney Promises To Propose Constitutional Amendment Banning Gay Marriage

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‘Bootlicking’: Johnson Ripped for Shrugging Off Trump Ethics Oversight

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May 14, 2025

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Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says he has no concerns about any potentially unethical or unlawful actions being taken by President Donald Trump, arguing that Trump is acting “in the open.” Defending his decision not to pursue oversight, Johnson baselessly claimed that aggressive investigations into then-President Joe Biden were justified because his allegedly concealed actions were integral to what the Speaker called the “Biden Crime Family.”

Johnson’s top three committee chairmen were tasked with investigating President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and on his watch a formal impeachment investigation was opened. The committees in part relied on a former FBI source who later admitted he had made up the lies about President Biden and his son.

Speaker Johnson on Wednesday was asked whether he is “equally concerned about President Trump’s family’s business dealings, especially given the fact that he is in a region now where his family has billions of dollars in investments in Doha, Saudi Arabia, and the fact that he has a crypto business now, where he’s auctioned off access to the White House for the highest bidder in his meme coin?”

“Look,” Johnson replied, “there are authorities that police the executive branch, ethics rules. I’m not an expert in that. My expertise is here in the House, okay?”

READ MORE: Trump to Middle East: ‘You’re the Envy of the World’

“I will say that the reason that many people referred to the Bidens as the ‘Biden Crime Family’ is because they were doing all this stuff behind curtains in the back rooms,” Johnson alleged. “They were trying to conceal it, and they repeatedly lied about it, and they set up shell companies into a family was all engaged in getting all on the dole.”

“Whatever President Trump is doing is out in the open, they’re not trying to conceal anything,” Johnson insisted.

NBC News’ Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles, who had asked the initial questions, informed Speaker Johnson that “the investment in the meme coin, those folks, are not transparent. We do not know who those people are.”

But Johnson vowed ignorance, while insisting that others have oversight responsibilities.

“I don’t know anything about the meme coin thing. I don’t, don’t know. I can just tell you that, I mean, President Trump has had nothing to hide. He’s very upfront about it, and and there are people who watch all the ethics of that, but, I mean, I’ve got to be concerned with running the House of Representatives, and that’s what I do.”

READ MORE: ‘Wild Negative Coattails for Trump’: Omaha Elects Its First Black Democratic Mayor

“Congress has oversight responsibility, but, um, I think, so far as I know, the ethics are all being followed, so…”

Critics blasted the Speaker.

“Congratulations to @SpeakerJohnson for making Chapter 15 of Profiles in Sycophancy!” said U.S, Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), mocking the Speaker. “Can’t believe it took you this long. ‘It’s not crime if it’s out in the open except for the memecoins I don’t understand’ isn’t a legal opinion. It’s bootlicking.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples

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Trump to Middle East: ‘You’re the Envy of the World’

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May 14, 2025

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President Donald Trump, during his visit this week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, declared the Middle East “the envy of the world,” “the center of the world,” while asserting that the region’s leaders know exactly “where my loyalties lie.”

The “America First” president, aiming to sign defense and economic agreements worth about $2 trillion, also announced the end of sanctions on Syria. Trump has also been lobbying to accept a controversial and possibly unconstitutional gift from Qatar of a $400 million “flying palace” luxury jetliner, to use as Air Force One.

“I’ve seen tremendous unities, tremendous friendship, and the whole world is watching the Middle East, and many are watching with envy,” Trump declared, according to video from Bloomberg News, as he lavished praise on the Middle East leaders. “You have something very special going on. Incredible opportunities are within reach for this region.”

READ MORE: ‘Wild Negative Coattails for Trump’: Omaha Elects Its First Black Democratic Mayor

Trump, who offered no praise for the U.S., blasted his predecessor repeatedly during his remarks, telling the Middle East leaders that “the Biden administration created havoc and bedlam by basically being incompetent, but by empowering Iran and its proxies, sending them billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars.”

“Everybody at this table knows where my loyalties lie. Always have,” he insisted. “They’ll never waver, never. And we’ll stand with our friends and partners, and we’ll confront the aggression that threatens us all.”

Trump claimed that “we have a mandate from the American people, the likes of which people haven’t seen for 129 years. They say it was the most consequential election in America in 129 years. So that sounds like a long time, so we’ll take that.”

“It’s all started on November 5th with the election, but a stable and peaceful Middle East will be a successful and prosperous Middle East, and that’s what you’ve done, and that’s what you’re doing. And, you know, it’s amazing because when I was here last, it was fine, it was doing good, and then I see the things that you’re doing here, and in your countries, it’s just an incredible, what you’re doing is the whole world is talking about it. The whole world is watching us,” Trump said.

READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples

“The whole world, the whole world is talking about what you, what you’re doing and you’re the envy of the world together. We’re in this room and we’re going [to] forge a Middle East that well be a thriving commercial, diplomatic and cultural crossroads at the geographic center of the world. That’s what it is. It’s the center of the world.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Less Blame Game, More Solutions’: Duffy Urged to ‘Do Your Job and Stop Whining’

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Wild Negative Coattails for Trump’: Omaha Elects Its First Black Democratic Mayor

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7 hours ago

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May 14, 2025

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Voters in Omaha, Nebraska just elected their first Black mayor, Democrat John Ewing Jr., in a historic shift, ousting a three-term Republican who has held that office since 2013. Some political observers say it’s the shape of things to come, as President Donald Trump’s favorability continues to drop and prices continue to rise, with more instability — economic and political — expected ahead.

Ewing, a former deputy police chief, beat Jean Stothert, who tried to embrace the MAGA agenda without fully embracing President Trump.

“Omaha’s Republican mayor Jean Stothert was a 12-year incumbent, once seen as untouchable,” observed Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott. “Then she endorsed Trump, ran on anti-trans bathroom bans — and lost decisively. A clear rejection of MAGA at the ballot box.”

READ MORE: ‘Less Blame Game, More Solutions’: Duffy Urged to ‘Do Your Job and Stop Whining’

Calling it “a fresh test of voter attitudes in a politically competitive slice of the country,” The Washington Post described Stothert as “a formidable opponent,” whom “Democrats sought to tie…to President Donald Trump’s unpopular agenda — another warning sign for Republicans in a critical battleground area.”

The New York Times, describing Omaha as “a politically divided city that has outsize importance in presidential elections,” reported that “the race provided an opportunity for strategists from both parties to gauge voters’ moods — even if much of the campaign focused on municipal nuts-and-bolts issues like street paving, crime and a planned streetcar.”

“Another example of a red to blue flip,” U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said. “Voters are angry at Republicans who are enabling the harmful policies of Trump.”

Kamala Harris won Omaha’s single electoral vote by about five points. Ewing, with results not yet official, appears to be winning by about ten points.

“Democrats just beat the longest-serving incumbent mayor in the country in Omaha, Nebraska, where I grew up,” declared Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, a former Harris advisor. “Jean Stothert was considered unbeatable, and they did it. That’s how much of a drag Trump is right now.”

“Wild negative coattails for Trump,” Nellis noted, and called it “a political shockwave,” where “Republicans are panicking.”

Watch Ewing’s victory speech below or at this link.

READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples

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